Narcism
by cursetheflame
Summary: [Kagome x Kikyou] NARCISM: an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself. However, is it considered narcism when the one you are interested in is not you but one who shares your face?


**Title:** Narcism

**Summary:** NARCISM **n**; _an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself._ Is it considered narcism when the one you are interested in is not you -- but one who shares your face?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the Inu-tachi; that honor belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I can pretend, though, right?

**Theme:** This is a one-shot written for the iyfic contest community at livejournal; the theme was yuri and it won second place :)

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With a huff, Kagome tossed her monstrous yellow knapsack over the rim of the ancient well before following after. The force of her throw caused her body to shift, throwing her off balance. The result was that she landed sprawled on the grass alongside her pack.

Cursing herself and her clumsiness, Kagome made to stand but paused when she sensed someone approaching. The aura was familiar to her, but as her head was on the ground, she was unable to see who was walking towards the well. Relying on her other senses, she knew that it could not be Inuyasha that was approaching. Inuyasha expected her back the next morning – and he rarely walked when in a hurry, preferring to use the trees. The slight of the footfalls indicated that her visitor was neither Sango nor Miroku; the cautious approach proved that it was not Shippou hurrying forward. There was no whirlwind approaching, so she knew it could not be Kouga. Who, then, was it?

She stayed on the ground a second longer, temporarily paralyzed by her own curiosity and stupidity. She had intended to surprise her friends with an earlier return. Instead, she found herself on the ground facing down an unknown visitor. As they expected her the following morning, none had been around to welcome her. Now she was alone and facing a potential enemy.

Her thoughts were confirmed when she heard the tell-tale whistle of an arrow let fly. It missed her, as she prayed that it would, striking the base of the well. Close enough to scare her, though, Kagome pressed herself flat against the ground. She did not want to rise. She needed to plan a counter-strike before facing her attacker.

"Kagome." The voice held no emotion. The word was not a question.

_Kikyou._

Kagome pulled herself up, but refused to stand. She was not sure she would find the strength in her legs to support her should she try. She did not fear the priestess, but sense and experience told her that she should.

"Disregard the arrow," Kikyou commanded, though Kagome thought that such was easier said than done. "I have set up a barrier around this area that none should pass through."

Puzzled, Kagome glanced past Kikyou and saw the pink haze that indicated that a small barrier was placed around the pair, with the well – and the arrow embedded in it – as the central focus of the spell. "But... why?" Kagome asked, more than a little nervous. She very rarely came across the dead priestess when alone; how was she to respond to Kikyou?

"I have come to see you, Kagome. I have come to find the answer to a question I have long pondered." Kikyou knelt down across from her reincarnation and her cold eyes stared. "When I look at your face, I see my own. This interests me, and I know not why."

The proximity of the older priestess unnerved her. Kagome tried to move away and found herself on her knees, back against the well. "I've been told that we look the same," Kagome answered with a small smile.

Kikyou nodded and leaned forward as if she were searching Kagome's face for an answer to some unasked question.

Kagome squirmed under the intense gaze, but did not lower her eyes. Instead she stared back at Kikyou, surprised to see such an interested expression on her face. An expression akin to… desire? Or was it loathing? "I should hate you, for being alive and stealing my features. I have more than once conspired to kill you, and have once tried to do so on my on. Yet, I can not achieve it – Why?" Though her words were harsh, her tone remained emotionless. Her eyes continued to delve into Kagome's soul.

It was her stomach that squirmed this time, though her body tensed. Why was Kikyou looking at her this way? "Ki—Kikyou…"

The dead miko did not acknowledge her reincarnation's address; she rose up on her knees and leaned in even more so forward. Slowly, as if it were her intent all the while, she lifted her hand and ran it down Kagome's cheek, almost as if testing that the young girl were real. "Your skin is so like mine was," she observed.

Kagome felt a strange sensation race down her spine at the touch. It grew even more when she saw that Kikyou's hand had dropped to her shoulder.

"Your body is firm yet tender," Kikyou added, her voice still without a hint of emotion, though her eyes seemed more alive.

Kagome, regardless of her own ideas, felt her body betray her as she leaned into Kikyou's touch. The cold faux flesh felt welcome against Kagome's flushed skin.

Kikyou's hand dropped forgotten when the pair locked eyes. Grey upon grey, they stared at each other before Kikyou pursed her lips and leaned in towards Kagome. Kagome froze against the well, anticipating the pressure that would come.

She was not sure if she welcomed it or feared it.

Kikyou's lips never made contact, instead breezing past the side of the younger miko's face.

It was a tease and, too late, Kagome realized it. Cursing herself now for even considering taking Kikyou's kiss, Kagome overbalanced in her haste to distance herself from Kikyou and tottered forward. Falling off of her knees, she landed face down in the grass, once more next to her yellow bag.

"Kagome… I thank you. I think I have a better understanding now…" Kikyou's voice entered her mind and captured her attention. She listened to hear if she had more to say, but the early evening silence settled upon her.

She didn't even have to move from her position in the grass to know that the miko had risen and was continuing on her own path. A minute later she knew she was correct when she felt the barrier dispel.

She let Kikyou go, though a strange part of her desired to call for her. She did not, and contented herself to pound the grass in frustration. Without meaning to, Kagome had found herself in the same vulnerable position she had been in those precious few moments ago; it seemed that every thing that just had passed had been a strange dream, but she knew that from Kikyou's visit, the dead miko held one more thing of her's…

With her continued presence, she held Kagome's sense of herself.

With Inuyasha's loyalty, she held Kagome's heart.

And with this, Kikyou now held Kagome's interest.


End file.
